“[The ICPH study] uses five student participation indicators to ‘hold states accountable’ on their ability to support and identify displaced children,'” wrote Mark Keierleber, a Senior Writer-Reporter for The74Million.org. Keierleber’s report was published this past Sunday (June 25th).

“In the [ICPH’s] rankings, which include all 50 states and Washington, D.C., Oregon and New York top the list, while Tennessee and Mississippi rank at the bottom,” Keierleber also wrote. The ICPH study additionally focused on how poverty and homelessness affect pre-kindergarten students, which was the most vulnerable cross section analyzed.

A portion of the ICPH’s report on this issue reads as follows:

“As toddlers, homeless children frequently begin to demonstrate developmental delays. Without access to high-quality preschool, low-income and homeless students will be unable to succeed academically on par with students who have had the benefit of early education.” (ICPHUSA.ORG)

While some business people in resource-rich U.S. states, such as Texas may pride themselves on how good the money flows in their state, the Texas ranking on how much each state cares about homeless children was very dismal at best. Texas didn’t even debut in the top 20 states that best deal with childhood homelessness.

However, officials in the state of Vermont, in particular, have been exercising a great deal of social responsibility since 1990 when the state received the Head Start State Collaboration Grant and the Child Care Development Block Grant. Vermont got a number five ranking from the ICPH based on how it deals with childhood homelessness.

You can see how your individual state of residence ranks on the ICPH list by visiting the link to the number two research source listed for this article below.